Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents

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  Scorpion venom as a source of new antimicrobial agents Abstract The escalating global threat of antimicrobial resistance necessitates urgent discovery of novel therapeutic agents. Scorpion venom, a complex cocktail of bioactive molecules, has emerged as a promising reservoir of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with potent activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. This review comprehensively examines the structural and functional diversity of scorpion-derived AMPs and their therapeutic potential. Scorpion venom AMPs exhibit remarkable structural heterogeneity. Their physicochemical properties, characterized by cationic charge, amphipathicity, and α-helical or β-sheet conformations, underpin their antimicrobial efficacy. These peptides demonstrate broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity encompassing Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Mechanistically, scorpion AMPs employ multifaceted strategies including membrane disruption through pore format...

Description of a new genus and species associated to the family Chaerilobuthidae Lourenço & Beigel, 2011 from Early Cretaceous Burmite (Chelicerata: Scorpiones)

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Description of a new genus and species associated to the family Chaerilobuthidae Lourenço & Beigel, 2011 from Early Cretaceous Burmite (Chelicerata: Scorpiones)

Abstract

One more new genus and species of fossil scorpion associated to the family Chaerilobuthidae Lourenço & Beigel, 2011 are described from Early Cretaceous Burmite. Spinochaerilobuthus Lourenço gen. n., with the new species Spinochaerilobuthus andreschmidti Lourenço sp. n., represents the third genus to be clearly associated to this familial group which is so far one of the most speciose among those known from Burmite. The new genus shows several clear morphological characters which can distinguish it from the two other known genera previously confirmed as associated to the family Chaerilobuthidae, attesting the existence of a marked generic variability within this family. Further comments on the variability of different morphological characters are also presented.

Lourenço W. R. & Velten J., 2026. – Descriptions d’un nouveau genre et d’une nouvelle espèce associés à la famille des Chaerilobuthidae Lourenço & Beigel, 2011 de l’ambre du Crétacé inférieur du Myanmar (Chelicerata : Scorpiones). Faunitaxys, 14(29): 1 – 8. https://archive.org/details/faunitaxys-f-430